news
Premiere: Anna Smyrk unveils ethereal live performance video for her elegant and deeply personal single ‘This Is A Drill’, ahead of debut album and launch dates.
We are honoured to premiere the video for the new single ‘This Is A Drill’ from one of our favourite artists, the immensely talented Naarm/Melbourne artist Anna Smyrk, the first single off her forthcoming debut album ‘Spectacular Denial’ via Community Music. She has also announced album launch shows in Eora/Sydney, Meanjin/Brisbane and Naarm/Melbourne in the …
Live Gallery: Garbage Return to Australia with a Powerful, Poised Night at the Sydney Opera House 14.12.2025
Garbage’s sold-out return to the Sydney Opera House is a reminder of the band’s enduring power, as Shirley Manson and company deliver a set that feels both resolute and deeply human in a city grappling with tragedy.
Live Review: Lady Gaga Ignites Sydney with a Jaw-Dropping Spectacle at The MAYHEM Ball
Lady Gaga’s first Sydney show in over a decade erupts into a colossal, stadium-shaking spectacle, as 70,000 Monsters witness The MAYHEM Ball in full surreal, electrifying force — a career-spanning triumph from pop’s most fearless performer.
News: Grace Jones, MARINA and King Stingray Lead Huge New Announcements for Brisbane’s On the Banks 2026
On the Banks has unveiled a massive second wave of artists for its 2026 series, adding Grace Jones, MARINA, King Stingray and Sarah Blasko to an already star-powered summer line-up set against Brisbane’s Cultural Forecourt at South Bank.
Premiere: Eora/Sydney band Postcards from Pluto return with a thumping, stomping single ‘Arcade’ ahead of headline gig.
We’ve been following the upward trajectory of Eora/Sydney band Postcards from Pluto for a little over a year now and thoroughly impressed by both their singles and live performances (see our reviews here). We are therefore overjoyed to be able to premiere their new single ‘Arcade’, which indicates things are only getting better. Since their …
News: Grace Jones to Headline Sydney Opera House Forecourt in 2026
Grace Jones will play the Sydney Opera House Forecourt in February 2026, bringing her singular blend of avant-pop, performance art and untouchable charisma to a summer program already stacked with global heavyweights.
Live Gallery: Bar Italia Cast a Quiet Spell Over Sydney’s Metro Theatre with a Taut, Oblique Performance 10.12.2025
At Sydney’s Metro Theatre, bar italia turn the mystique of their early years into something bold and theatrical, delivering a blistering set that proves just how far they’ve evolved since their underground days. Powered by the new album Some Like It Hot, the trio move with confidence, heat and a newfound muscularity—transforming their spectral indie into a force built for big rooms.
News: BADBADNOTGOOD and Hannah Joy Join a Stacked Sydney Opera House Summer Line-Up
BADBADNOTGOOD and Middle Kids’ Hannah Joy have been added to the Sydney Opera House’s summer music program, with the Canadian trio set for a boundary-shifting Concert Hall debut and Joy performing her first-ever solo show in the Playhouse.
Premiere: LA’s the black watch exclusively unveil new stand alone single ‘There Are Solutions to Each & Every Problem’ ahead of new album in early 2026.
We are honoured to premiere the new stand alone Christmas single from those iconic dream pop exponents the black watch, the band headed by multi-talented John Andrew Frederick. This follows the magnificent double album ‘For All The World’ released earlier this year (and reviewed by me here) and precedes new material on their twenty-sixth LP on …
Track: Meanjin/Brisbane’s Ancient Channels unveil new single ‘Chimera’ ahead of new album and appearance at showcase label gig organised by False Peak Records.
Ancient Channels are a supergroup of sorts, consisting of members from the myriad of talented bands operating in Meanjin/Brisbane( including Terra Pines, Apparitions, and Deafcult), many of whom have been enthusiastically covered by us here at the antipodean outpost of Backseat Mafia. Their new single ‘Chimera’ is a gloriously dense wall of shimmering sounds that …